7 Style Stars' At-Home Hair Care Tips
They have turned the hair they have into the hair everyone wants.
Turns out it doesn't take a village—or a glam squad booked through a snazzy app—to get hair that looks impossibly chic. Equipped with little more than basic tools and DIY savvy, these seven inspiring style stars have turned the hair they have into the hair everyone wants.
NIKISHA BRUNSON
This Texas-based cofounder of lifestyle blog Pineapple.life grew up hating the texture of her voluminous, tightly curled hair. "But today, people say, 'I wish I had hair like yours!' And that's wild."
MY GOOD HAIR DAY: "Honestly, the bigger the better! If your spirit is huge, your hair can be huge!"
WEEKEND ESSENTIAL: Every other week, Brunson uses Elucence clarifying shampoo, then smooths in Shea Moisture Jamaican Black Castor Oil leave-in conditioner. (She's also currently developing her own product line, Folie.) Then she air-dries: "No blow-dryers."
MORNING NEWS: "I'll fluff out my hair with my fingers to help the curls separate. Then I use a little bit of argan oil on ends. This seals the cuticle and prevents breakage. It's the most important thing I do with my hair: Afterward, it's good to go."
NIKISHA BRUNSON
Mega-moisturizing essentials top Brunson's list: Shea Moisture Jamaican Black Castor Oil leave-in conditioner and pure argan oil, such as Kahina Organic 100% Argan Oil.
Margot
Born Caitlin Moe, this classically trained violinist just came off the Asian leg of Katy Perry's world tour.
TRUE LOVE: "I had long hair all my life," she says, "and I never felt comfortable with it. When I finally chopped it about four years ago, something clicked. This is the hair I'm supposed to have."
POWDER PUFF: "If I'm going out and I want a nice sleek look, I use Unite Texturiza spray on dry hair, and I use my hands and a few bobby pins to shape it down. But on tour, you never know where you'll be or how much time you'll have to do your hair. So I bring baby powder on every tour bus, sprinkle it on top of my head, and rub it into my scalp."
ASIA MAJOR: "Tokyo is my favorite place to buy hair accessories," she says. "They have ones with pandas, little flowers, velvet bows. I even found a pair that say 'New York'!"
BLONDE OR BUST: L.A.-based stylist Riawna Capri creates the platinum shade the musician calls Golden Moon. "It's metallic but not quite silver. Mod, but still rock 'n' roll."
Margot
Margot hydrates "daily" with Davines Nounou Hair Mask and styles with Unite Texturiza finishing spray.
KARLI ENRIQUEZ
As a Beats By Dre ambassador and a former VJ for MTV Tr3s, Henriquez—who got her big Hollywood break as a cohost on Ryan Seacrest's radio show—now helms the mic at Dash Radio. "My day can start at 4 A.M.," says the 32-year-old, who prefers to keep her thick, frizz-prone waves sleek with regular blow-outs. "So when I'm working, I do my hair in the evenings, then I pull it up into a high bun to keep it smooth while I sleep."
SHE'S COVERED: "You have to get Drybar's shower cap," she says. "It has a special seam that doesn't let any humidity from the shower get inside."
QUICK FIX: "Sometimes if I've had a wild night, I'll wake up and half my hair is flat, the other half is kind of curly. So I mess up both sides with my hands until they have kinky waves. Luckily, I live in L.A., so it's still cool to look like a messy hipster."
PRIVATE ICONS: "Some Latina women in the media frame their face with honey-colored highlights to bring out their eyes and add dimension to their cuts," says Henriquez, who lightens her natural dark brown base. "J.Lo started it, but Sofia Vergara really mastered it. I take my cues from them."
KARLI ENRIQUEZ
Henriquez adds shine with Bumble and Bumble hair oil and fluffs with R+CO Death Valley Dry Shampoo.
TK QUANN
This model/blogger/musician (also known as TK Wonder) keeps her hair routine simple. "The big rule is 'leave it alone,' " she says of her signature high-volume plaited cascade.
DIY FOREVER: After a few bad experiences with "impatient stylists" during her modeling days, Quann does her own cutting and styling, and doesn't color. "My hair requires patience. I am my own stylist."
SLOW WASH: Quann binge-watches Netflix during her lengthy regular braiding sessions: "I'll detangle my dry hair using my fingers, braid it into quite a few braids, then wash with only conditioner—my staple conditioner is Alberto VO5." Once her hair is 80 percent dry, she unbraids the sections and runs a blend of coconut, jojoba, olive, and castor oil throughout, then puts her hair back into 10 large braids "in order to cut down on shrinkage while drying. My sister calls me 'Forever Braid-Out.' "
TK QUANN
Quann's co-wash costars: Alberto VO5 Tea Therapy Clarifying Conditioner plus a home-blended oil cocktail.
CHARLOTTE RONSON
Born in London and now based in Manhattan, this fashion designer, with her coveted beachy long layers, is also a minor celebrity in Japan, where—much to her dismay—paparazzi follow her into her 14 clothing stores.
THE BRUSH-OFF: Ronson is loyal to her longtime favorite, Herbal Essences Smooth Collection shampoo and conditioner. "I'm not that patient, so I use a Wet Brush in the shower. I just brush my hair out really quickly while it's still got conditioner in it." Postshower, surf spray (Ronson even created her own a few years ago, called A Perfect Mess Beach Hair spray) is her only other essential: After blow-drying, she spritzes it on to add texture and body.
PAGING JANE BIRKIN: Colorist Tracey Cunningham adds "babylights" to Ronson's natural ash blonde. "We call Charlotte 'Bambi' in the salon," says her regular stylist, Jen Atkin, "because she's such a lady, but she also gives off a vintage, '60s boho vibe."
CHARLOTTE RONSON
Herbal Essences Smooth Collection shampoo "reminds me of childhood," says Ronson, who detangles with a wet brush.
May Kwok
The former fashion publicist has become New York's busiest new DJ, spinning for clients such as Richard Chai and Dolce & Gabbana and appearing with Gisele in a Carolina Herrera commercial.
YOU'D BETTER WORK: "I go to the gym every morning, so I wash my hair—yes, with shampoo—daily. I don't feel clean unless it happens. Then I let it air-dry, use a plain plastic comb from the drugstore, spritz some Fekkai surf spray in it, and that's it!" Kwok says. When she's looking for more hold, she'll use Redken Mess Around paste. "Before events, I straighten my hair with a curling iron—I pull each piece in a downward motion so it frames my face, and I use the heat and the natural shape of the barrel to slick it down."
ON BEING NONBLONDE: "My hair was really bleached out last year," says Kwok, who was born in Hong Kong and raised in Queens, New York. "It was cool, but it never felt natural, and it was really damaging. As soon as I went back to black, I felt this relief, like, I'm finally myself again!"
May Kwok
To make styles stick, Kwok uses Redken Mess Around paste and adds the "right amount of texture" with Fekkai Soleil Beach Waves spray.
NEELAM GILL
The first-ever model of Indian descent to star in a Burberry ad, Neelam Gill also walked next to Kylie Jenner in Kanye West's Adidas show and scored a candid with Harry Styles on Instagram. (It's @neelamkg, if you need a new obsession.) But even though her hair gets intense heat damage at fashion shows and shoots, she keeps her long, never-been-color-treated strands supershiny with regular conditioning.
NIGHT MOVES: "My hair is so thick, so I wash it two to three times a week at night, and more often if I'm on a photo shoot where they've put in lots of product. Then I lather in conditioner and use Moroccanoil after," says Gill, who admits to going to sleep regularly with wet hair. "I know you're not supposed to, but I've been doing it my whole life."
OFF-DUTY MODEL STYLE: "On a free day, I like to use Bumble and bumble Surf Spray to make my hair a little messier." She sprays it at the roots, then pulls it through the length of her hair with her bare hands.
THANKS, MOM: "I'm very lucky because I have good genes. All of the women in my family have superlong and healthy hair, which I'm so grateful for!"
NEELAM GILL
Gill's off-duty model musts include Moroccanoil Treatment oil and Bumble and Bumble Surf Spray.
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